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why have a battery in your bass?

#61
eddododo said:
Having a voltage meter of some sort helps, but I'll say there's something at least unideal about hoping you remember something twice a year. Its never gotten me, the careful type, but I know that one day it just will.. leave a cable in the bass or use a 1/4-1/8 adapter for stupid reason, also to be forgotten.

That being said, it IS a simple problem to deal with.

OP:
Look at the hmm... whats that called..
the Tillman preamp. a popular little diy simple jfet preamp. On his site he goes into remotely powering the circuit, so if youre truly interested, thats a pretty solid start. Though i guess its similar enough to what you described.
Click to expand...

I built one of the Tilman preamps for my passive bass and I power it externally. Works great too but only with 9v. The preamps in my other two basses use opamps and will work with 9 or 18.

His phantom power design is too complicated IMO, the approach suggested in the thread is simpler and doesn't require custom cables.
 
#62
Mine is a question rather than an answer. If the battery in your bass is an issue and you like your preamp why not remove the preamp from your bass and put it in a small box on the pedal board using normal power supply and run the bass passive. An on board preamp for the most part is just an EQ pedal built into the bass. Changing the battery is a no brainer if you like an active EQ system on board and if powering it in your bass with a battery is an issue or concern remove it and put it on your pedal board. This thing of keeping it in your bass and running power to it seems to me like a classic Rube Goldberg going from A to C to Z to get back to A. IMHO
 

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#63
Means2nEnd said:
Mine is a question rather than an answer. If the battery in your bass is an issue and you like your preamp why not remove the preamp from your bass and put it in a small box on the pedal board using normal power supply and run the bass passive. An on board preamp for the most part is just an EQ pedal built into the bass. Changing the battery is a no brainer if you like an active EQ system on board and if powering it in your bass with a battery is an issue or concern remove it and put it on your pedal board. This thing of keeping it in your bass and running power to it seems to me like a classic Rube Goldberg going from A to C to Z to get back to A. IMHO
Click to expand...

Only if you don't want or need any controls for volume or tone on your bass. Otherwise you're back to a passive setup or the simple mods suggested in this thread.
 
#64
Passive set up is exactly what I mean with an EQ pedal on the floor. To avoid the "simple" set up that most people will never do because it doesn't make much sense or it would be done a lot more by a lot more players since it already exists. I guess if you like to tweak on the fly throughout the set and the battery thing is that much of a problem then it all makes perfect sense just not to me. That was my point I didn't want to start a issue sorry if I have.
 
#65
i have an 18 volt preamp. i have to put two batteries in my bass about twice a year. doesnt bother me one bit. like a lot have said before me, most people who have a problem with batteries usually go passive.

but for me, the tone im getting is totally worth buying (4) 9 volts a year. and the 60 seconds it takes to replace them.
 
#66
remainthesame said:
i have an 18 volt preamp. i have to put two batteries in my bass about twice a year. doesnt bother me one bit. like a lot have said before me, most people who have a problem with batteries usually go passive.



but for me, the tone im getting is totally worth buying (4) 9 volts a year. and the 60 seconds it takes to replace them.
Click to expand...


+1

Great response. I tend to change my batteries before each gig if needed or not. I use the old battery in my wireless system this ensures i have a fresh battery constantly in my basses. I have no issues at all changing batteries in my basses as i never have to do it on the fly.
 
#67
Means2nEnd said:
Passive set up is exactly what I mean with an EQ pedal on the floor. To avoid the "simple" set up that most people will never do because it doesn't make much sense or it would be done a lot more by a lot more players since it already exists. I guess if you like to tweak on the fly throughout the set and the battery thing is that much of a problem then it all makes perfect sense just not to me. That was my point I didn't want to start a issue sorry if I have.
Click to expand...

There's no issue, only a discussion. Don't assume the masses are always right, think for yourself and don't forget that finding ways to reduce the numbers of batteries we throw away is another good reason to do this. That and I like the smell of solder rosin in the morning, its the smell of victory.
 
#68
Means2nEnd said:
Mine is a question rather than an answer. If the battery in your bass is an issue and you like your preamp why not remove the preamp from your bass and put it in a small box on the pedal board using normal power supply and run the bass passive. An on board preamp for the most part is just an EQ pedal built into the bass.
Click to expand...
the difference is that now the 15-20 feet of cable affects the tone, whereas it doesn't if the preamp is on the bass.

(i like the effect, i run passive myself, it's just the fact is it's not quite the same.)
 
#69
DeadZeriousBass said:
I use the old battery in my wireless system this ensures i have a fresh battery constantly in my basses.
Click to expand...
this seems odd, as a wireless will kill a battery very quickly while a bass pre battery lasts forever. i'd never trust a wireless with anything but an absolutely fresh battery.

(actually, i just use rechargeables for my wireless, that's the application where they make sense.)
 
#70
You know, I am really glad I don't need to worry about batteries. I have never liked any active bass I have tried. They just feel too... What's the word? Loose? Idk, I just don't like em. I thought though that it might just have been the basses themselves, so I breadboarded the tillman preamp a moment ago just to see. Makes my bass sound like every other active bass. I mean, I noticed a huge clarity increase, but it just made my strings feel loose, like I hardly had to push to get the notes to come out. I guess active basses just aren't for me.
 
#71
I read this topic all the time here on TB and it is almost like its a big issue or every bassist lays awake at night in a cold sweat worrying about their active bass going dead on stage. This psuedofright almost seems like the reason some players prefer passive over active because of this "dilemma"...when really its no dilemma at all with todays powerful lithium battery technology. If some experience their battery going dead all the time...it aint the battery and if u are that worried...put a new one in for heavens sake!!! Its really about as ridiculous as people loving the tone of a good bass tube head like the SVT but bitchin about the weight of the thing. If you were to have to wear the thing on your back the entire time like the valid bass weight argument. ...I could totally cop with the argument but just having to lift something a matter of yards for setup or teardown seems like nonsense to even make light of it. Id almost rent a crane if it came down to sacrificing tone. Just seems like there are real issues and then there are issues that aren't really issues for most at all. Im not trying to snuff out creativity either, just makin a point which is...."whats the point"
 
#72
jamminology101 said:
I read this topic all the time here on TB and it is almost like its a big issue or every bassist lays awake at night in a cold sweat worrying about their active bass going dead on stage. This psuedofright almost seems like the reason some players prefer passive over active because of this "dilemma"...when really its no dilemma at all with todays powerful lithium battery technology. If some experience their battery going dead all the time...it aint the battery and if u are that worried...put a new one in for heavens sake!!! Its really about as ridiculous as people loving the tone of a good bass tube head like the SVT but bitchin about the weight of the thing. If you were to have to wear the thing on your back the entire time like the valid bass weight argument. ...I could totally cop with the argument but just having to lift something a matter of yards for setup or teardown seems like nonsense to even make light of it. Id almost rent a crane if it came down to sacrificing tone. Just seems like there are real issues and then there are issues that aren't really issues for most at all. Im not trying to snuff out creativity either, just makin a point which is...."whats the point"
Click to expand...

+1

It's today's cry baby mentality. My bass is too heavy, it wasn't perfect for me out of the box, I messed with it and broke it , now what?, i left it plugged in for 3 weeks and now the battery is dead, everyone's a winner, no fret buzz, yada yada.....
 
#73
walterw said:
the difference is that now the 15-20 feet of cable affects the tone, whereas it doesn't if the preamp is on the bass.

(i like the effect, i run passive myself, it's just the fact is it's not quite the same.)
Click to expand...

the total distance of cable between your bass and the head is what matters only. If the EQ "active" is in your bass or on the floor does not matter at all and lets say on some insane testing gear there was a difference your ear and mine would never be able to hear it. Most of the conversation was with pedal boards in mind so guys who have regular effects have buffers to take care of that distance anyway and for the purists with true bypass they are usually smart enough to add a buffer just saying.
 
#76
DeadZeriousBass said:
+1

Great response. I tend to change my batteries before each gig if needed or not. I use the old battery in my wireless system this ensures i have a fresh battery constantly in my basses. I have no issues at all changing batteries in my basses as i never have to do it on the fly.
Click to expand...

Before every gig?
How often is that? It seems a little extreme, but hey, you have fresh batteries in use for sure. ;)
 
#77
I encourage any experiment that would result in the end of buying batteries on a continuous basis.

Build it, test it, try to refine it. If you build it and it works, they will come. If inventors listened to all the naysayers, God knows how much we wouldn't have today.

You gave me an idea on active power but it would be a a solution that if I mentioned would have many snickering. Still, it's always refreshing to hear people trying something new.

Good luck!
 
#79
jamminology101 said:
I read this topic all the time here on TB and it is almost like its a big issue or every bassist lays awake at night in a cold sweat worrying about their active bass going dead on stage.
Click to expand...

I worry about it sometimes, it not exactly a 2 minute job to switch the battery on mine so I've got to be a bit more careful about how long I leave it before battery changes.
 

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